Patsy Keever (D-NC) Takes On One Of The Banksters' Favorite Patsies, Patrick McHenry

Back in early May we mentioned that not all the news from North Carolina was bad, and we were proved right. Blue America endorsed Patsy Keever has been finishing up her last term in the State House by waging some serious progressive fights. It's her last term because she's taking on Patrick McHenry, North Carolina's most pernicious and reactionary Member of Congress in a new district that's far more swingy than the deep red one that's been reelecting him again and again.

Because of the legislative session, she hasn't been campaigning since the landslide primary win (58-26%) over the conservative Democrat Steve Israel recruited against her, but she's hardly been wasting her time in Raleigh. She and fellow progressive, Congressman Brad Miller, took on right-wing class war brawler Paul Ryan while he stumped for Romney in North Carolina. As Ryan was pushing his plan to cut taxes for the top 1% and strip the Medicare guarantee from seniors, Patsy was blasting his ludicrous plans to the press. She pointed out that "Ryan’s proposed budget would significantly shrink the safety net for our seniors by sharply reducing Medicare. This could increase expenses for seniors by as much as $6,400 per year.”

Patsy was also quick to point out that the Romney-Ryan budget would “grant America’s wealthiest citizens at least $265,000 each in tax cuts while raising taxes on the middle class.” People who have followed Patsy's career know she's a proud, independent-minded Democrat who talks common sense, not DC mumbo-jumbo. She's very clear that she's running to represent the people of Buncombe, Polk, Rutherford, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Catawba counties and not the corrupt DC Establishment of either Washington party. I wouldn't expect to find someone who speaks her mind and represents the middle class as forthrightly as Patsy to wind up on any preferred lists of corrupt political hacks and lobbyist-driven politicians in DC. She's eager to come right out and say that if we grant more tax cuts for the wealthiest, then Congress is going to raise taxes on the middle class. McHenry and other career politicians of both parties have been doing just that-- and Patsy want to stop it... now!

She also stood up to fracking in North Carolina. As Republicans and pro-fracking Democrats-- you know the kind-- were kowtowing to the natural gas industry, Patsy was fighting for more impact studies. To no one's surprise, the frackers won. At least Patsy and fellow environmentalists won “an improved version of the original, but still moves ahead more quickly and with less study than many of us would like.” State regulations need to be drawn up before fracking starts, and the legislature has to grant final approval before drilling starts.

Now as the NC Legislature is finishing up, she is leading the charge in the Move To Amend campaign in the NC State House by proposing a resolution urging Congress to amend the Constitution to overturn Citizen’s United. In an email to supporters Patsy wrote:

Can you believe that Karl Rove and GOP front organizations plan to spend more than $1 billion during this year’s election to advance their extreme agenda? Just last week we saw the power of unlimited corporate cash in Wisconsin’s recall election in which the Democratic candidate for governor was outspent by a whopping 10 to 1 margin.

That’s why eleven of my fellow North Carolina state legislators and I have proposed a resolution calling on Congress to ban unlimited corporate cash in elections. However, the Republican leadership in Raleigh is ignoring our resolution and refusing to even debate it.

Her campaign informed me, that in under a week her team has collected more than one thousand signatures of what they’re calling “citizen co-sponsors” in support of the resolution. You can click here to sign up as a co-sponsor or learn more about the legislation.

McHenry is a Member of the House Financial Services Committee-- remember when he was unspeakably rude to Elizabeth Warren when she testified about protecting consumers from predatory banksters? His attack dog role has been to protect the interests of the financial predators on Wall Street, not something most folks back in western North Carolina are cognizant of. But look at who has financed McHenry's despicable political career. Banks and Insurance companies are his biggest donors and his top 2 lifetime contributors are Bank of America and the American Bankers Association. He's a member of the committee charged with regulating this industries. Should he be taking bribes from them? The Bank of America PAC rewarded McHenry with $49,999 for his services to prevent them from being regulated. And the American Bankers Association gave him $50,000 to help them block rules that would keep their members from ripping off consumers.

And this year, his top three donors are Wells Fargo, sleazy pay day lenders Advance America Cash Advance Centers and his old pals at the American Bankers Association. Here are the industries paying to keep Patrick McHenry in Congress this year:


So far the Finance Sector has given McHenry $1,555,587 in legalistic bribes to keep him doing what they love him doing on the Financial Services Committee. Shouldn't that be illegal? But Congress decides what's legal and illegal and both party establishments have long ago decided that taking bribes from the industries you are charged to watch over is not illegal. It's up to the voters to police those kinds of activities. And here's how the McBanksters have been treating the McCongresscrooks. Notice that not everyone gets over a million, the way McHenry does-- and that those who do are usually in Congress for three times longer than he is. At this rate, by the time tiny little McHenry grows up to be as senior as a Buck McKeon, he'll have taken in $5,000,000 in bribes from the banksters. Of course, to them it's an investment that pays off very well.

So far this year-- as of the April 18 FEC filing-- McHenry has taken in over $800,000, most of it from PACs. Patsy has taken in just over $120,000, 84% of it from grassroots donors. Thanks to Steve Israel recruiting an anti-Choice, anti-LGBT reactionary to run against her in the primary, she was forced to spend $91,073. Now that she won, Israel is no longer interested in North Carolina's 10th congressional district or in defeating Patrick McHenry, many of whose biggest donors just happen to be big Steve Israel donors as well. Funny how bipartisan old fashioned Inside-the-Beltway corruption can be, isn't it? Patsy can win this race. Voters in western North Carolina are learning that McHenry doesn't align with them on any important issues and that he's working fro the banks against them. Patsy will never outraise him and his bankster buddies-- but she doesn't have to. She just has to raise enough to get her message out to the voters. The DCCC is never going to give her a dime-- she's too independent-minded for them. It's up to people who understand the difference between having a Patrick McHenry in Congress and having a Patsy Keever in Congress. Can you help? You can do it here on the Blue America page.